Not In Our Name

A petition to end the administration’s policy of blowing up “probable” terrorists, as well as a goodly number of innocent men, women and children in strikes targeting such dangerous people as rescue workers and funeral goers, all on the basis of our omnipotent God King’s secret and unaccountable will alone.

This is a good petition, but what disturbs me about the newly developing fashion for petitioning the White House is that it so closely resembles the ancient Chinese custom – which continues today in Communist China – of petitioning the Emperor being the only available (and almost always futile) means of redress of grievances because: 1. There was no accountable legislature, and the related fact that 2. The Emperor was an autocrat. In functioning republics, citizens do not petition the chief executive.

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